Cross-correlation-based detection and characterisation of microseismicity adjacent to the locked, late-interseismic Alpine Fault, South Westland, New Zealand

Abstract

The Alpine Fault is inferred on paleoseismological grounds to produce magnitude 8 earthquakes approximately every 330 yrs and to have last ruptured almost 300 yrs ago in 1717 AD. Despite approximately 90% of its typical interseismic period having elapsed since the last major earthquake, the Alpine Fault exhibits little present-day microseismicity and no geodetic evidence for shallow creep. Determining the mechanical state of the fault ahead of a future earthquake is a key objective of several studies, including the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP). Here we use a network of borehole seismometers installed in conjunction with DFDP to detect and characterise low-magnitude seismicity adjacent to the central section of the Alpine Fault. We employ matched-filter detection techniques, automated cross-correlation phase picking, and singular value decomposition-derived magnitude estimation to construct a high-precision catalogue of 283 earthquakes within 5 km of the fault trace in an otherwise seismically quiet zone. The newly recognised seismicity occurs in non-repeating, spatially and temporally limited sequences, similar to sequences previously documented using standard methods but at significantly lower magnitudes of ML<1.8. These earthquakes are not clustered on a single distinctive structure, and we infer that they are distributed throughout a highly fractured zone surrounding the Alpine Fault. Focal mechanisms computed for 13 earthquakes using manual polarity picks exhibit predominantly strike-slip faulting, consistent with focal mechanisms observed further from the fault. We conclude that the Alpine Fault is locked and accumulating strain throughout the seismogenic zone at this location.